Chapter 6: The Intervention

Story of A Girl


"Caleb, can I talk to you for a minute?" Ashleigh pulled Caleb aside, just as he was about to walk into their math class together.

"Of course, what's going on?" Caleb gave Ashleigh a reassuring smile. "Is it Aaron again?"

"No, not it's not. Um, it's about Adele." Ashleigh's eyes met Caleb's. "I'm really worried about her."

"What do you mean?" Caleb asked, shifting his backpack slightly higher onto his back. He had an idea what Ashleigh was getting at, but was refusing to believe it himself. Adele was perfectly fine.

"The other day, when I was staying at your house, Adele had come home from running. And she took off her shirt, to get changed, and I could see her ribs." Ashleigh paused for a moment, trying to regain her composure. She hated seeing her friend so sick. "She had her back turned to me."

Caleb's eyes shot up, and he knew, that what he was thinking on the car ride the previous night with his sister, was 100 true. "I've noticed she's been exercising a lot more lately." He looked around to make sure that they were alone in the hallway. They were. "I can sometimes hear her throwing up at night."

"Today, on her way to her locker, I saw her. She has dark circles under her eyes, she's so pale, and Caleb, it's obvious she's way to skinny."

"Thanks, Ashleigh." Caleb said, hoping that Ashleigh wouldn't catch onto his voice cracking. "I'll take care of it."

Ashleigh hoped he would.

That same day, at lunch, Caleb decided to skip lunch with his friends to talk with his sister. Maybe if he got to know her a little bit better, he could help her on his own. He walked around the lunch room and didn't see his sister anywhere. Then he remembered the day his sister and Tyler had gotten into a huge argument, which started after Adele had eaten lunch outside with Aaron and Aaron's friend Trevor. Caleb picked up his tray and walked outside. Looking around, he spotted his sister. He saw a little fragment of a body, running laps on the track field. Caleb knew that he wasn't necessarily close with Adele, but he could spot his sister a mile away. And that frail, sickly looking girl running on the track field was his baby sister.

Instead of going to his classes, like he was supposed to do, Caleb cut the rest of the day and made his way back home. He wasn't sure why, but he had felt inclined to talk to his mother. Maybe she could help him figure out what to do about Adele. Adele was sick. Extremely sick. And if he couldn't help her, who could?

"Caleb, what are you doing home?"

"Mom, Mr. Simms" Caleb greeted his mother and her boyfriend.

"I was just getting ready to go, I'll call you later." Mr. Simms said, as he kissed Caleb's mother on her cheek and made his way out the front door.

"Caleb! Are you going to answer me?" His mother was sitting on the infamous couch, where she normally spent her afternoons, but this time, she was dressed. She was sipping on a frozen cocktail, and Caleb could tell that his surprise appearance had destroyed whatever plans she was having with Mr. Simms.

"Mom, please. It's serious." Caleb's voice was shaky. He knew his mother cared for both Adele and him, maybe not conventionally, but in her own weird way she cared. Caleb hoped that she would be able to answer his questions.

Caleb spent the next twenty minutes telling his mother everything, from their dad's discovery, to Ashleigh's worried confessions. Caleb's mother, sat expressionless on the couch, the entire time Caleb talked.

When Caleb was finished, he looked over at his mother, hoping that she'd be able to tell him what to do next. But she didn't. She didn't even speak for a few minutes. Instead, her reaction was the opposite at what Caleb had imagined. "Adele's perfectly fine. You're over-reacting." She said, taking a sip of her frozen concoction.

"Are you serious?" Caleb half yelled. His mother, pretty much destroyed his childhood of anything normal, had just told him that his sister was fine. "Have you seen her lately?" Caleb turned so he wasn't facing his mother anymore. He could barely fathom her reaction, but seeing her face was another thing. "You drink my childhood away, and one day out of the blue, you pretend like everything's normal. Wake up from this fantasy you're having Mother. You can only fool Mr. Simms for so long."

Caleb stormed off and without realizing it, ended up at Gorman's house. If his mother couldn't help, maybe his father could. He made his way inside, and a surprised Gorman greeted him.

"Caleb, what are you doing here? Why aren't you at school?"

"It's a long story," Caleb walked over to his father, "but I'd like for you to stay, so you can hear what's going on."

Gorman nodded, and took a seat next to Caleb's father.

"Dad, you remember when Adele came and visited you yesterday?" Caleb knew his father couldn't answer him, but seeing his eyes fixed on his own, he knew he had his attention. "Well, I think you know that Adele is sick. I've been hearing her throw up. She's exercising more than she ever has. And her friend, I don't know if you remember Ashleigh, well she came up to me today at school and said that she's worried about Adele. I went to talk with Adele at lunch, but I couldn't find her anywhere. Instead, I found her on the track field. She's been skipping lunch and running. I can't tell you the last time I've seen Adele eat a full meal. I'm scared, and when I talked to mom, she pretended that Adele was fine. I don't know what to do."

Caleb saw his father fidgeting with his wrists. As if on cue, Gorman put a pen into his father's wrist and held up a piece of paper. Caleb read what his father had written down.

"Doctor."

And Caleb knew exactly what he had to do.

A few hours later…

"Hi, is this Doctor Ruiz?" Caleb spoke into his phone. He had spent the past few hours researching doctors in the Boston area that specialize in eating disorders. If his mother wasn't going to help, Caleb figured he just do it on his own.

"Hi, Dr. Ruiz, my name is Caleb Danvers and I'm calling about my sister Adele. She has a serious problem..."

--

Caleb, although silent, knew everything. I don't know how to describe it, but I knew it. I knew that he knew. And I was scared.

The drive home from Gorman's normally takes about five minutes in the car. But for some reason, maybe it was silence, maybe it was the knowing, but it seemed like it took forever to get home.

Caleb put his Mustang in park and turned his body towards me, as if he was about to say something. I didn't want to listen to whatever he had to say, so instead of pretending to listen, I decided to avoid him altogether. I ran out of that Mustang and into my room as fast as I could.

I got up to my room, out of breathe, shaky from the nerves, and a nauseas feeling in the pit of my stomach. I took the nauseas feeling as a sign, and after I locked my bedroom door, I started in on my nightly routine.

Throwing up, brushing my teeth. Throwing up once more and brushing my teeth yet again. Self checks, first the shoulder blades, then the wrists. Everything checked out okay.

I stepped onto the scale and was extremely surprised to see that I had gained one pound. I had gone from 101 to 102. I had done nothing different than the past few weeks. If anything I exercised more, ate less, and threw up after every meal. How could I gain a pound from doing all that.

Disappointed with myself, I leaned over the porcelain bowl once more, and rid my stomach of any remaining components. I could not gain a pound. I was obese already as it was. I didn't need this. Why, out of all people in the entire world, was this happening to me?

I focused my eyes on all the body parts I hated in the mirror as I brushed my teeth for the third, and probably not the last time, that night. My arms were too flabby. My stomach was disgusting. My thighs, ugh, my thighs! Where should I start? They dimple, they move when I walk, they have no definition what so ever, and they're just so ugly to look at. I'm so ugly. I hate myself. I hate everything about myself.

I decided I'd punish myself, for gaining that one pound. I decided that I would do an extra 500 squats, tonight, tomorrow night, and for the rest of the week. I decided that I would not show myself any mercy.

I was going to pay for this. I was going to reap the repercussions of my weight gain.

I'm not sure if it was all the extra squats I had been doing, but my body was so tired the next few days. I felt like I was carrying around a ton of bricks, when holding just a light-weight, three pounds at the most, paperback book for my English class. Isn't exercise supposed to increase a person's endurance?

"Miss Danvers, the guidance counselor would like to see you." Mrs. Knight, my English teacher said.

I picked up my things and headed towards the office. I don't remember requesting a meeting with the counselor.

I walked up to the guidance counselor door, to find it already open. Inside, was a petite woman, maybe a few inches shorter than me, with long flowing brown hair and big brown eyes. She was wearing a red tank top and a pair of casual jeans. She looked maybe a few years older than me. She was really pretty. And really thin herself.

"Hi, are you Adele Danvers?" She questioned.

"Yes." I answered her back. I don't remember Spencer's ever having a guidance counselor that looked like this lady.

"Sorry, I'm new here. My name is Dr. Ruiz, why don't you have a seat?"

I stepped into her office and took a seat like she had asked. She reached behind me and shut the door. "I'm just trying to get familiar with all the students here." She said, reaching for a file. "I just wanted to know if you thought of any schools you wanted to apply for, after high school?" She smiled and I relaxed.

I spent the remainder of the period in Dr. Ruiz's office. She didn't seem like a guidance counselor. She kept asking me what I liked to do for fun and if I was experiencing any stress in my personal life. Her focus didn't seem to be on my studies too much, it was mainly about myself. Maybe she did that with everyone to make them feel more relaxed?

After school ended, I decided that the punishment I had set for myself a few nights ago was too weak. Instead, I decided to run two miles around the track field, before I ran the mile home. This should guarantee weight loss, not weight gain.

Just before I left the track field, I could have sworn I saw the new guidance counselor watching me from the school grounds. I brushed it off though. I was just being paranoid.

--

"Caleb, listen I know this is hard for you, but based on what I've seen, what I just told you is 100 percent true. I know this from experience." Dr. Ruiz was sitting, cross legged across from Caleb at the local indie coffee shop, just a few minutes away from Nicky's. She took a sip of her latte and hoped the words she just spoke were settling in on Caleb. She knew it must be hard for him, but in order to help his sister, he needs to accept the fact that she has a very serious problem.

"What do you think we should do next?" Caleb's eyes never left his frozen drink. He could barely handle Reid, over-using his powers lately, and his mother dating his best friend's father, he didn't know if he could handle his sister leaving him. She was all he had.

"I think we need to stage an intervention. Get everyone, your family, her friends, any one of any importance to Adele, to meet. Then we tell her that she needs help and hopefully she'll see that people are worried about her and she'll willingly go with me back to Boston. To get the help she needs. To get the help she deserves. And to give her family a piece of mind." Dr. Ruiz smiled over at him.

"How long will she be gone?"

"It depends. Treatment never really stops. I think she'll need at least a month inside the institution working with me directly. Then she'll be able to come home, to resume a somewhat normal life. I'll come down for weekly meetings and she'll need to be watched carefully, for any signs of relapse. An eating disorder doesn't go away overnight. For some people, it lasts their entire lifetime. Hopefully, for your sister, she'll learn how to manage her obsession, and learn to cope with her disillusions." She stopped talking for a moment, to sip on her luke-warm latte, and watch Caleb's reaction. He had a good poker face. For the first twenty minutes of their meeting, she wasn't sure that Caleb was fully understanding what she was saying. But now she could see the weakness in his poker face. She could see how his jaw was firmly set, his brows were burrowed, the poor boy was obviously going through a difficult time. "Caleb." Her voice was soft, like a mother trying to soothe her newborn baby to go back to sleep. "Caleb, this is not your fault. You're sister has an obsessive tendency. What she's going through has nothing to do with you, or your family, or friends. What she's going through is a brain disorder. A body image disorder. In her mind, she'll always find something imperfect about her body. It's got everything to do with the way she thinks, and that's what the treatment is for."

"I understand." By the tone of his voice, he wasn't fooling anyone. "When should we stage the intervention?"

Dr. Ruiz set her now empty coffee cup back on the table. "The sooner the better."

--

"Ashleigh, it's Caleb, can you meet me at my house in a half hour?" Caleb talked into his phone. He was driving home, from his meeting with Dr. Ruiz, and had called everyone from Tyler, to Gorman. He felt responsible for his sister's illness.

"Yeah I can. What's going on?" Ashleigh's voice sounded deep of worry and concern.

"I'll explain once everyone gets there." He hung up his phone. Now, all he had to do was convince his mother that Adele needed to go to Boston for a few months. He knew it was going to be harder than he imagined. He himself, was in denial for so long. But his mother. His mother's life was based on denial.

Caleb paced around the kitchen while everyone gathered into their house. His mother, his best friends Pogue and Tyler, Ashleigh, Kate, Sarah, and Dr. Ruiz were seated patiently around the room. Caleb was waiting for Gorman, who said he'd bring by his father, but had yet to mention it to anyone else. If his mother knew, she wouldn't have stayed. His mother was a selfish woman.

--

"Alright, so is this it?" Dr. Ruiz stood up, asking Caleb.

Before answering there was a knock at the door. "I've got a few more people, and I think they're here." He said, opening the front door. His father, being pushed in a wheelchair by Gorman were greeted with a quick hello and Caleb motioned for them to follow him.

"Alright, Dr. Ruiz, this should be it." Caleb said, moving out of the way, and letting Gorman and his father into the kitchen. Caleb saw his mother's reaction. It was a mix of shock and sadness that danced across her face.

Caleb took a seat, next to his father, and listened as Dr. Ruiz explained what was about to take place.

"Adele has a very serious eating disorder. I was contacted by Caleb a few days ago. He said he wasn't sure but he thought Adele was bulimic. I then decided I would pay a visit to Adele, without her knowing who I am. I went 'undercover' so to speak, as the new guidance counselor at her school. The school worked with me closely and after observing Adele for over a period of a few days, it is my conclusion, not only as a doctor but as a recovering bulimic patient, that Adele is in grave danger to herself. It's best that we seek immediate help, and if today goes as planned, than Adele should be in Boston, with me, by the end of the day." Dr. Ruiz looked around as she spoke. "This intervention, should not be a shouting match. Adele will resist, she will even deny she has any issues. But as her family and friends, I think your best approach should be calm and thoughtful. Don't force her. Don't argue with her. Just let her to do the talking.

"Adele will be home in a few minutes. Caleb is going to greet her at the door, and he will bring her into the kitchen. He will introduce me to Adele and I'll tell her the reasons as to why you're here. Like I said before, she will resist and deny, but don't let that discourage you. If she see's that you all are here to help her, and not to tell her what to do, she will go willingly. I'll ask her to get her things ready, and as she does so, I will allow you all to have time alone with Adele. Once everyone has had their chance to say goodbye, I will take Adele with me to my offices in Boston. She will undergo intense therapy and counseling sessions, she'll take nutrition courses, and she'll even see a personal trainer who will help her exercise the right way. She'll be on independent study from her classes here in Ipswich, but her therapy sessions should not interrupt her curriculum." Dr. Ruiz looked around, from face to face, to make sure her point was clear.

"There should be no outside interaction for an entire month, with the exception of Parent's Day, which is scheduled towards the end of my patient's stay. Family and friends are encouraged to come and visit for a few hours to see how Adele is doing. Other than that, the only updates on Adele will be given by me directly to the immediate family.

"I ask that all my patients cut off contact with the outside world to gain a sense of dependence upon themselves. It's crucial to the cognitive processes of any type of disorder."

Caleb looked around as Dr. Ruiz spoke. He noticed how sad Tyler had looked. He knew that this month without Adele was going to be hard for him, but it probably is going to be harder for Tyler. Because Adele and Tyler had that close of a friendship.

"Dr. Ruiz," Caleb interrupted his own thoughts, and stood up. "Adele will be here anytime now."

"Alright, Caleb go ahead and wait for her at the door. I'll answer any questions you all have here." Caleb got up and stood on the front porch. Sure enough, he could make out Adele's tiny figure, jogging up towards their driveway. She looked so frail and weak. He wondered how hard her body must be pushing itself just to get up everyday, he could only fathom how hard it must be for her to run home everyday.

"Sup Caleb, why are you outside?" She asked, as she took off her iPod arm back and stuck it into her backpack.

"Just thinking." He said. Inside, he was terrified. He hoped his sister would get better with the treatment, but he couldn't help but wonder what if it didn't work out. What if his sister only got worse? What if she… Nevermind. He didn't want to think of such a thing. "Will you do me a favor?" He asked his sister, hoping she'd agree.

Adele nodded her head.

"Will you grab a bottled water for me out of the fridge please." He smiled. Nervously.

Adele looked at him worriedly. Something was up. She could tell. "Okay, lazy ass." She said as she made her way into the kitchen, unaware that Caleb was walking behind her and unaware of what laid behind the doors she was about to push open.

--

I ran home extra hard that day. The faster I pushed myself, the faster the pounds would burn off.

It was a weird day altogether. I had this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach, especially since I had asked to see Dr. Ruiz at school today, and the secretary told me there was no Dr. Ruiz that worked at the school. And then I ran into that Chase dude again and he insisted on walking me to all of my classes. I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong.

"Sup Caleb, why are you outside?" I greeted my older brother, who only added to worries. He looked like he was thinking hard about something. I pulled off my iPod armband and stuck it into my book bag.

"Just thinking." He answered me. No shit, I thought to myself. "Will you do me a favor?"

I nodded my head in agreement. "Will you grab a bottled water out of the fridge please?"

I rolled my eyes. I could tell something was up. Caleb was nervous, I could tell by the way he was fidgeting. "Okay, lazy ass" I mouthed off as I made my way into the kitchen. I was about to push open the doors when I heard a voice. Many voices. There were people in the kitchen. I pushed open the door and walking inside, to see my mother, Tyler, Pogue, Kate, Ashleigh, Sarah, Gorman, my dad, and Dr. Ruiz sitting around. They were talking until I entered the room. It was only obvious they were talking about me.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking around. Why the hell was Dr. Ruiz here? She wasn't at school today and when I asked about her the office staff had no idea who I was talking about. It was as if she a ghost or something.

"Hello Adele, do you remember me?" Dr. Ruiz stood up from her chair.

"Yes, you took me into your office only a few days ago." I reminded her.

"I've got a small confession to make Adele. I'm not a guidance counselor. I'm actually a doctor from Boston, I specialize in eating disorders." I could feel someone's gaze burn into my back. I turned my head and saw my brother standing in the doorframe. That asshole set me up. I turned back around, I couldn't stand the sight of Caleb right now.

"So, what does this have to do with me?"

"Adele, we're all here today because we care about you. We want you to lead a healthy and normal life." Dr. Ruiz stated flatly. Everyone else stayed silent.

"I am leading a healthy and normal life." I mocked her.

"I spent the afternoon at your school to observe you Adele. And through my observations you definitely fall into an unhealthy category." So she was sent to school to spy on me?

"Maybe you're observations are wrong." I chided her. It could be true. That's the thing about science. All hypothesis are guesses at the beginning. And maybe her hypothesis was just a lucky guess.

"Adele, I know from experience about what you're going through. I used to do the same thing with my body, until I realized that what I was doing was not normal, and sought help." Her tone was warm. I've never been talked to like that before. My own mother, never talked to me like that. I felt like I could trust Dr. Ruiz. Don't ask me why.

"Why are you all here?" I asked, hoping Dr. Ruiz would shut up and I'd be able to talk someone else into letting me stay. "Tyler." I looked over at him, but he wouldn't look up. He stayed silent. "Dad?" I looked over at my dad, who's eyes were no longer twinkling. Which was a sign that my dad was upset. Acutally it was the only sign my dad was upset, because let's face it, nowadays it's hard to tell.

"Adele, I think you should spend some time with me, in Boston. To clear your head up and to help you fix your body. It'll only be a month and then you'll be able to come back and resume your daily life." Dr. Ruiz was approaching me now. I stepped back.

"Adele, please listen to her." I heard my brother's voice from behind me. "She knows what it's like. She knows what you're going through. She's here to help you."

I turned around to face that traitor once and for all. "Caleb, I hate you!" I spat out and ran past him into my bedroom.

I couldn't believe what was happening. After what had seemed like forever, I was finally getting a long with my brother, and I felt that we had more in common than I had previously thought. I felt as though Caleb cared about me. Until now. I knew he hated me. I knew this was just some sort of diversion to get me out of the house. He hated me and wanted me gone. End of story.

I ran into my closet and pulled out my suitcase. If Caleb wanted me gone, then fine I'll go. But I will never forgive Caleb. Never.

I started pulling random clothes from the hangers and flung them over my shoulder and onto my bed. I wasn't really thinking clearly. I was angry, upset, and confused. I heard a knock on my door and ignored it. The knock came again and I opened the door, to see Tyler.

"What do you want?" I spat out at him. He could have stood up for me downstairs. He could have told everyone to go away, and that I was fine. But he didn't. No one ever stood up for me.

Tyler walked into my bedroom and shut the door. He had a painful expression on his face, one that was hard to read. He looked confused, angry, and sad. It was a horrible expression I hoped I'd never see again. But what I hoped I never usually got. I probably would be seeing a lot of this facial expression in my sad and pathetic lifetime.

I resumed throwing things about my closet and dresser drawers. "Adele." Tyler was trying to get my attention. But I was about to have none of that. I ignored him and walked into my bathroom grabbing the essentials, like my toothbrush, makeup bag, and other personal necessities. "Adele," his voice was edgier. Who knew Tyler Simms could have an edge?

"What?!" I yelled out, throwing my stuff into my overflowing suitcase.

"Look at me" he demanded.

I obliged. "What do you want, Tyler?" I looked into his blue eyes and instantly regretted it. How could I do this, to him, to my family and friends, and to myself? I am such a horrible person. "I'm so sorry" I cried, throwing myself at him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. "I'm so sorry I did this to you Tyler." I said in between sobs.

"Adele, you're doing this to yourself." He said, in what I assumed he meant to be a reassuring comment, but it sounded more like he was degrading me.

I instinctively pulled away. "Tyler, I love you."

Why I said that, I don't know. Maybe I needed to be reassured of his affections at that time, or maybe I just didn't know what else to say. Maybe I really did love Tyler Simms. But the point is, is that I said it. And I regretted it. Because he didn't say it back. Instead, he told me he wanted what was best for me. He wanted me to be healthy and happy. And although I told him the only way I was going to be happy was if I was with him, he told me it couldn't be.

And after I kicked him out of my room and told him I hated him, I did the stupidest thing you could ever imagine. At the time, it felt like my way out. My only way out. I hadn't planned it out, because if I had, it might have worked. You see, on the top of my suitcase, laid a razor blade. A little, tiny, but oh so sharp razor blade that I used to shave my legs with. And when I saw that razor blade I had an idea. An idea that I acted out in the empty bathtub of my bathroom.

I raised my wrist up in the air and watched as the blood trickled down my arm. The physical pain hurt. But the emotional pain was unbearable. If Tyler didn't want me, than who would? I closed my eyes and drifted off into unconsciousness. Only to be awoken by the paramedics, and Dr. Ruiz's big brown eyes telling me that everything was going to be okay. Maybe it was the dreamlike state I was in, but I believed her. If Dr. Ruiz said everything was going to be okay, than it would be. I closed my eyes and fell back asleep into my dark and seeded dreams, where everything is perfect and improbabilities never exist.